DAS 2020 to begin from February 7
At a press conference at the National Art Gallery’s auditorium yesterday, Co-Founder of the Samadani Art Foundation, Rajib Samdani, and Director of Samdani Art Foundation, Nadia Samdani highlighted the details of the Dhaka Art Summit (DAS) 2020. Secretary of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Badrul Alam Bhuiyan was also present. Biswajit Goswami, one of the curators of the summit, highlighted various aspects of the exhibition. The main venue of the fifth edition of the DAS is the National Art Gallery building of the Shilpakala Academy, and a sculptural garden outside the building. The first performance will be held in Gallery 6 of Chitrashala on February 7. Bangladeshi artist Ariful Kabir will participate in the Samdani Art Award performance on the same day. On the inaugural day, Karakrut Arundhachal and Alex Vojio will attend the performance, titled Together (Dhaka Edition).
On the occasion of the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a special exhibition, Lighting the Fire of Freedom: Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has been arranged on the first floor of the academy, as a part of the summit. The exhibition is supervised by the Center for Research and Information (CRI), with support of the Department of Information and Communication Technology and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. There will be a collection of historical photographs of Bangabandhu. Besides Bangladesh, there will be 500 painters, sculptors, curators, art critics, art professionals, art collectors, architects and media personalities from 44 countries, including Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, France, Italy, Iran, Sri Lanka, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom, among others.
This time, the Summit Art Foundation will try to attract international special attention to South Asian art practice through the summit. At the event, 500 well-established and talented South Asian artists will showcase their works. Of these, 290 are the emerging artists of Bangladesh. Prominent artists will also attend the summit.
Roots, a special exhibition, will be held under Biswajit Goswami’s supervision. The life and works of Zainul Abedin, S M Sultan and Kamrun Hasan, especially, the painters who contributed a lot to the development of art education will be highlighted though different arrangements.
There are seminars, symposiums, solo and group lectures in the country and abroad with the participation of art critic and art collectors. There will also be a documentary exhibition of art subjects.
Under the supervision of the Samadani Art Foundation, the Samdani Art Award is being organised by 12 selected artists with the partnership of the UK-based Delphina Foundation. The purpose of the art award is to promote emerging and talented artists from Bangladesh, internationally. Ariful Kabir, Ashfika Rahman, Faiham Ebna Sharif, Habiba Nowrose, Nazmun Nahar Keya, Palash Bhattacharjee, Promiti Hossain, Soma Surovi Jannat, Sounak Das, Sumana Akter, Zihan Karim and Tahia Farhin Haque are in the short list for this year’s awards. Aaron Cezar, Director, Delphina Foundation, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Director, Castello di Rivoli, and Eungie Joo, Curator, S F MoMA, along with artists Julie Mehretu and Adrian Villar Rojas will serve as members of the International Jury Board for the award.
International gallery designers have worked to aesthetically design the Dhaka Art Summit. One of the features of this event is to have a complete ‘plastic-free’ display. To that end, eco-friendly papers, bamboos, canes and wood are being used. A reputable establishment in Switzerland is tasked with the decorations. There will be no use of air conditioning in the exhibit this time.
The audience can enjoy the exhibition without any registration from 10 am to 8 pm. Visitors are discouraged from carrying large bags at the event for security reasons. At the same time, no food or drinks will be allowed inside the gallery. However, a food court has been set up at the academy grounds.
The Ministry of Culture Affairs is supporting the summit, along with the Department of Information and Communication Technology and Bangladesh Art Academy. The title sponsor of the summit is Golden Harvest.
For more details on the event, visit www.dhakaartsummit.org.
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